Cheaper medicines under new PBS changes

From 1 January 2023, the maximum cost of general prescriptions under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in Australia decreased for the first time in the 75-year history of the PBS.

The PBS co-payment, that is the amount you pay towards the cost of your PBS subsidised medicine, for general patients will decrease from $42.50 to $30.00. For most people, that means a saving of $12.50 on each prescription. The government will continue to index the co-payment on 1 January each year.  

If you’re making an extras claim for non-PBS medicine, the benefit paid by Defence Health will be the gap between the new $30.00 threshold and the actual charge (up to your cover’s pharmacy benefit limit and annual limits).

Patients in the Closing the Gap program won’t pay any more to reach the general PBS Safety Net threshold and concessionary patients won’t be affected by these changes due to the PBS Safety Net thresholds reductions they received from 1 July 2022.

See Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)for more information.​​